Resetting mechanism for counters.



J. F. OHMER & E. H. BRIDENBAUGH.

RESETTING MECHANISM FOR COUNTERS.

APPL-HIATION HLED FEB.15,1915.

1 166,383," Patented Dec. 28, 1915.

Z SHEETS-SHEET I. 58 g 45 COLUMBIA PLANOURAPH (20-, WASHINGTON. D.- C

.I. F. OHMER & E. H. BRIDENBAUGH.

RESETTING MECHANISM FOR COUNTERS. APPLICATION men FEB.15. 1915.

1,166,383, v Patented Dec. 28, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN 01mm, or DAYTON, OHIO, AND suntan n. ismnnnnaoen, nrm'vnn, COLORADO, assmnons ro oHmr-ARE nncrs'rsn com rpm, OFDAYTON, 01110, A CORPORATION or new YORK, mconrona'rsn m 1902.

"RESETTING MECHANISM FOR COUNTERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Original application as June a, 1912, Serial no. 101,208. m med and this application filedlebruary 15,

b all whom it may concern Be itknown that We, JOHN F. OHMER and Emma H. BRIDENBAUGH, citizens of the United States, residing, respectively, at Dayton, county of Montgomery, State of Ohio, and Denver, county of 'Denver, State of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Resetting Mechanism for Counters; and we do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the-invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in machines for registering and indicating fares or transportation charges, a. type of which machine is commonly known as a taximeter.

The improvements, more specifically speaking, relate to -means for resetting counting wheels to zero after they have been operated for a period iii-registering and indicating the fares or charges computed either by the time consumed or the mileage.

The present application is divided from a pending application for Letters Patent for a taximeter, Serial No. 7 01,208, filed by John F. Dinner and Elmer H. Bridenbaugh, June 3, 1912.

The object of the present invention'is to provide counting wheel resetting means which is of general application though peculiarly adapted to the uses and purposes of taximeters. H

To the above ends, theinvention is efficient in its operation and positive in action to a desirable degree and is comparatively simple.

Referring briefly to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of portions of ataximeter sufficient to illustrate-and describe our invention which re lates, as before stated, to the counter wheel resetting mechanism; Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the counter resetting mechanism on the line a--a of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the lowermost arrow; Fig. 3 is a vie-wof the same mechanism similar to 2 with the parts thereof in different posi- Sertal No. 8,131.

tions; Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line cc of Fig. 1 with parts omitted that are unnecessary to exemplify the counter wheel and the resetting elements acting directly thereon; Fig. 5 is a section on the line bb of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is an elevation of the left end of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1 and as you view Fig. 1; Figs. 7 and 8 are detail views 'of a latch which releases the secondary resetting pawls; andFig. 9 is a section on the line (La of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the uppermost arrow.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, in first defining a counting operation, the various elements to be described are mounted in a suitable frame-work of which parts land 2 are shown in the drawings. Other'parts of the frame-work unnecessary for the=present description are shown in the drawings of the application from which this application isdivided, as well as other elements not necessary to be referred to in a presentation of the present improvement. A shaft 9 is journaled in parts 1 and 2 of said frame-work. One of the several functions of this shaft is to support'the indicating counting wheels. In the present instance, only the units and tens wheel 3 is shown on shaft 9. It will. however, be understood that wheels of a higher numerical order, for example, hundreds and thousands, are usually employed. The shaft 9 supports variousother elements of the taximeter mechanism, but for the pre'sept purposes it is unnecessary to specify them. The resetting mechanism for one of such counting wheels is common to all; that is to say, each counting wheel, whether it be units, tenshundreds. etc, is reset to zero bv similar devices. It has, therefore, been deemed sufiicient to illustrate and describe the unit and tens wheel 3 and theresetting mechanism therefor. This wheel 3 is provided with a ratchet 4 which is fixed thereto and adapted to be engaged bv a counter actuating pawl 5 to intermittently rotate the same in the counting operations of the machine.

The pawl 5 is swung from an oscillating frame 6 which is rigidly attached to a rock shaft 7. The shaft '7 has numerous functions to perform and may be termed the counter-actuatin V shaft. When the .said shaft7 -is-rocke to lower the frame 6, in

a way presently described, the pawl 5 engages the ratchet i and moves the counting wheel 3. The said shaft has fixed to it an arm 8 to which a spring 10 is secured, said spring being arranged to rock said shaft 7 to lower the frame 6 and therewith the pawl 5 after it has been elevated to a counteractuating xosition. The frame 6 and therewith the said pawl 5 is elevated to be lowered by said spring 10 by means of an arm 11 fixed to the rock shaft 7. The said arm 11 has an extension 12 to which a pawl 13 is pivoted, said pawl being controlled by a spring 13. When the vehicle, upon which the taximeter is carried, is hired, the pawl 13 is initially placed in engagement with an initial timing drum 14 secured to a rock shaft 15 and having a recess 16 in the flange thereof. This is accomplished by turning the shaft 2%, to be again referred to. The shaft/15 is a prominent element of the taximeter mechanism and is adapted to be actuated from an axle of the vehicle or from clock mechanism in well known ways. The said shaft 15 is alined with the shaft 9 and the abutting ends find bearing in the frame member 2. When in a normal position, the recess 16 in the drum 1 1 is so situated relative to the pawl 13 that the shaft- 15 is rotatable either from clock mechanism or the axle of the vehicle, both of'which are common to taximeter operations and neither of which has it been deemed necessary to illustrate in connection with the present improvements, which, as before stated, relate mainly to counting wheel resetting mechanism. In either event, that is, whether moved by one or the other agency, the shaft 15 is rotated a suflicient extent commensurate with the initial fare charge before the pawl 13 drops into the recess 16 and the pawl 5 is lowered by the spring 10. When said pawl '13 enters the recess 16, the extension .12 of the arm 11 will engage a four-leaf cam 17 on the shaft 15. During the continued rotation of the shaft 15 the extension 12 will ride upon the arms of said cam 17 and elevate the pawl 13 to rock the shaft 7, and when said extension 12 drops 01f said cam the spring 10 will lower the pawl 5 to engage the ratchet f and thereby rotate the counting wheel 3 to the extent of one indication, thus adding to the amount previously indicated thereon. During the downward movement of the frame 6 and the couhter-actuating pawl 5 by said spring, the said pawl is forced into engagement with the ratchet 4: by the projection 18 on a. retaining pawl 19, said pawl 19 being controlled by spring 20. During this down ward movement ofthe pawl 5 it is drawn into engagement with the ratchet 4 by a. spring 21. It will be noted that the shaft 7 may be rocked, and the frame'6 and pawl 5 elevated and lowered under two condi frame 6, at which time a projection 22 on pawl 5 will engage a projection 23 on the frame 6 and move the pawl 5 out of the path of the ratchet. The frame 6 is elevated and lowered to place the pawl 5 in and out of operation with the ratchet i by setting means which is described fully in the pending application hereinbefore referred to. Briefly, the elements having to do with the operation of the frame 6 and counter-actuating pawl 5 are as follows: Journaled in the frame of the machine, of which the plate 1 is a part, is a main setting shaft 24, a prominent element of the taximeter mechanism of our prior application. The said shaft 24.: has a flag-crank 25 connected thereto, another well lmown element of the taxiineter'.

The shaft 2 1, through the manipulation of the flag-crank, is held in any one of its set positions by a roller 26 which rides in and out of peripheral recesses 27 in a disk mounted fast on the shaft 2a. The roller 26 is mounted on a bell-crank lever 29 which is pivoted at 30 to the frame and is controlled by a spring 31 to maintain a contact between said roller and the disk. The cam 32,

operative relation with the pin on the arm 11 on the shaft 7. 1V hen the flag-crank 25 1s lowered from the first to the second )osition as seen in Fi s. 2 and 3 the cam V 7 t3 7 32 permits the arm 11 and the frame 6 to be depressed by the spring 10 which, as before stated, is attached to the arm 8 on shaft 7. It will. therefore, be seen that by this means,

when the flag-crank 25 is lowered the pawl y 5 will be placed in operative relation with the ratchet 4t. The frame 6 and the pawl 5 carried thereby are elevated and lowered to actuate the counting wheel 3 through the actuation of the rock shaft 7 by the following means. The arm 11 on said shaft isprovided with the extension 12 carrying the pawl 13 which, when the cam 32 releases the pin 33, rides on the flange of the drum 14:. When said shaft 15 has been rotated an extent su'lflcient to bring the recess 16 in the flange of the drum opposite the pawl 13, the arm 11 is lowered by the spring 10 thereby placing the lowered end of the extension 12 in operative relation with the four-leaf cam 17 on shaft 15. In Fig. 6, the said shaft 15 we 1 have seen, is mounted upon the shaft 2i in is shown as being adapted to be actuated through a train of mechanism which consists of a ratchet 34, pawl 35, gears 36, 37, 38, 39, and a worm gear 10, in mesh with a worm'41 upon a. shift 42. The shaft E is adapted to be drivenrfimmthewheelsrof the vehicle in the caseofa: taxnneter. when it is desired to resetitbe counter wheel 3 to zero, the fiag-crank25ais elevated tothe first position to place the. paiwl fiout of the path of the ratchet 4 thereby permitting the counter wheel 3 to herotatedbeck or reset to a normal or zero by time following means. This is accomplished through the cam 32 acting upnnithe pin 33 on arm 11 to elevatethe shaft I Intaximeter operatiomthe counter wheel 8 and the initial timingdmim 14 are both reset to normal position when the flag-crank :25 is elevated to the first position. The drum 14 is provided with a spiralsshaped cam 43 mounted on the shaft '15,: and the counterwheel 3 is provided with a similar shaped cam 43 mounted upon 9. These cams in each case are in operath'c relation with two primary and secondary resetting pawls 44 and 45. Primary resetting pawls 44 are mounted on a hollow shaft 46 journaled on a shaft 47 while secondary resetting pawls 45 are mounted upon a shaft 48. The shafts 46 and 48 are under the influence of springs which tend to move said pawls into operative relation with the cams 48. For this purpose, the shaft 46 is provided with an arm 49 having attached thereto a spring 50, shownin Figs. 1 and 5, while shaft 48 is provided with an arm51 to which springs are attached. During the period in which the counting wheel 3 LS being actuated by the pawl 5, the pawls 44 and 45 are held out of the path of the'c-am 43 by arms and 54. The arm'53 is mounted upon the shaft 46, while arm 54 is mounted upon the shaft 48. The said arms 53 and 54 are controlled by the flag-crank 25 through the main setting shaft 24. Mount cd upon said shaft Q4 is a cam 55 which is adapted to engage the end of the arm 53 to lower said arm and to move the pawl 44 out of the path of the cam 43 when the flag-crank is lowered, vas willbe clearly seen from Figs. 2 and 3. When the arm 53 is thus lowered, it is caught by a springccntrolled latch 56 pivoted at 57 and is held in said lower position by a spring 58. When the flag-crank 25 is elevated, -apin 59 on the cam releases the latch 56 and thereby enables the spring 50 to elevate the arm 53 and pawls 44, thus placing the pawls 44 in engagement with the cams 43. The pressure exerted by the pawls 44 upon the cams 43 will rotate the shafts 9 and 15, the counting wheel 3, and. the timing drum 14 partially to a zero position. The wheel 3 and the timing drum L4 arecompletely reset to zero position by the pawls 45, however, the pawls 45 are initially moved out of the path of the cams 43 to permit the counter wheel 3 timing drum 14 tohe mutated duringthe procemzof counting by a cam 50 mounted upon the shaft 24. The cam 60 is adapted to engage the arm 54, n onnted upon the shaft 48, to move the ponds 45out of the'path ofthe cams 43 when the flag-crank 25 is lowered. Thepawis45 are held in this position by a latch '61- mounted on the arm 53 and in engagement with the lower end of the arm 54. When the .pin 59 on cam 55 releases the latch 56 from the end ofv the arm 53, the outer end of said arm will be elevated, and when the pawl 44 has rotated the cam 43 its portion of the resetting movement, the latch 61 will reach a recess 62 in the arm 54. When said latch 61 reaches said recess 62, the arm 54 is released and thereby permits thespring 52 to place the pawl 45 in engagement with the cam 43 and thus completes the resetting movement of the counter Wheel 3 and the timing drum 14. It will be understood that these resetting operations are performed consecutively when the flag-crank 25 is moved from the second to the first position, or from that position shown in Figg'3 to that shown in Fig. 2.

While we have with more or less minuteness described our invention, we do not. wish to limit ourselves to less than that which is included within a liberal interpretation of the .claims. Having described our invention, weclaim: 1. In combination, a counter, a primary pawladapted to initially reset said counter to a normal position, a secondary pawl adapted to complete the resetting movement ofsaid counter, said secondary pawl being under the control of said first named pawl, springs adapted to actuate said pawls, a latch controlling said primary pawl, and means adapted to release said latch to place said pawls .under the influence of said spr1 2. n combination, a counter, a primary pawl adapted to initially reset said counter to a normal position, a secondary pawl adapted to complete the resetting movement of said counter, said secondary pawl being under the control of said primary pawl, springs adapted to actuate said paw'ls, a latch controlling said primary pawl, and setting means adapted to release said latch to place said pawls under the influence of said springs, said setting means beingalso adaptedto move said pawls out of relation with saidcounter whereby said counter may be freely rotated to counting positions.

3. In combination, a counter, a primary pawl adapted to initially reset said counter to a normal position, a secondary pawl adapted to complete the resetting movement of said counter, said secondary pawl being under the control of said primary pawl, springs adapted toactuate'said awls, a latch controlling said primary pawl: setting means adapted to release said latch to place said pawls under the influence of said springs, and cams carried by said setting means and adapted to move said pawls to a position to permit the counter to be moved to counting positions.

4. In combination, a counter, a cam movable with said counter, a primary pawl adapted to engage said cam to initially rotate said counter to a normal position, a secondary pawl adapted to engage said cam to complete the resetting movement of said counter, an arm connected to said primary pawl, an arm connected to said secondary pawl, the arm connected to said secondary pawl being under the control of the arm con nected to the primary pawl, springs adapted to actuate said pawls, and means for releasing the arm connected to the primary pawl to permit said pawls to consecutively engage said cam and move said counter to a normal position.

5. In combination, a counter, a cam movable with said counter, a 7 primary pawl adapted to engage said cam to initially rotate said counter to a normal position, a secondary pawl adapted to engage said cam to complete the resetting movement of said counter, a primary arm connected to said primary pawl, a secondary pawl adapted to engage said cam to complete the resetting movement of said counter, a primary arm connected to said'primary pawl, a secondary arm connected to said secondary pawl, a catch carried by said primary arm and controlling said secondary pawl, springs adapted to place said pawls in engagement with said cams, and a latch adapted to release said primary arm to permit said pawls to concurrently reset the counter to zero.

6. In combination, a counter, a cam movable with said counter, a primary pawl adapted to engage said cam to initially rotate said counter to arnormal position, a secondary pawl adapted to engage said cam to complete the resetting movement of said counter, a primary arm connected to said primary pawl, a secondary arm connected to said secondary pawl, springs adapted to place said pawls in engagement with said cam, a catch carried by said primary arm and controllin the secondary pawl, and a latch adapted to release said primary arm to permit said pawls to consecutively move said counter to a normal position.

7. In combination, a counter,a cam movable with said counter, a primary pawl adapted to engage said cam to initially rotate said counter to. a normal position, secondary pawl adapted to engage said cam to complete the resetting movement of said counter, a primary arm connected to said primary pawl, a secondary arm connected to said secondary pawl, springs adapted to place said pawls in engagement with said counter to a normal position cam, a catch carried by said primary arm and controlling the secondary pawl, a latch adapted to release said primary arm to permit said pawls to consecutively move said counters to a normal position, and setting means controlling said latch, said setting to complete the resetting movement of said counter, a primary arm connected to said ,primary pawl, a secondary arm connected to said secondary pawl, means adapted to place said pawls in engagement with said cam, a catch carried by said primary arm and controlling said secondary pawl, a latch adapted to release said irimary arm to permit said pawls to consecutively move said setting means controlling said latch, and cams mounted on said setting means and adapted to engage said arms to more said pawls out of the path of the resetting cam to permit said counter to be freelyrotated to counting positions.

In combination, a counter, a spiral cam attached to said counter, a primary pawl adapted to engage said cam to initially rotate said counter to a normal position, a secondary pawl adapted to engage said cam to complete the resetting movement of the counter, a primary arm connected to said primary pawl, a secondary arm connected to said secondary pawl, said secondary arm being providedwith a recess, a catch carried by said primary arm and adapted to be re ceived by said recess, a latch adapted to release said primary arm t permit said pawls to consecutively more said counte to a normal position, setting meanscontrolling said latch, and cams mounted on said setting means and adapted to move said pawls out of the path of the cam to permit said counter to be freely rotated to counting positions.

' 10. In combination, a counter, a resetting cam having a shoulder thereon movable with said counter, a primary pawl adapted to engage said cam to initially rotate said counter to a normal position, a secondary pawl adapted to engage. said cam to complete the resetting of said counter and to engage said shoulder to act as a stop for said counter, a primary arm connected "to said primary pawl, a secondary arm connected to said secondary pawl, springs adapted to place said pawls in engagement with said cam, a catch carried by said primary arm an-d con trolling said secondary pawl, a lat'chadapted to release said primary arm to permit said pawls to consecutively move saidcounter to a normal position, setting'means controlling said latch, and cams controlled by said setting means and adapted to engage said arms to move said pawls out of the path of the resetting cam and to thereby permit said counter to be freely rotated to counting positions.

11. In combination, a counter, a spiral cam having a shoulder thereon connected to said counter, a primary pawl being adapted to engage said cam to initially rotate said counter to a normal position, a secondary pawl being adapted to engage said cam to complete the resetting movement of the counter, said secondary pawl being adapted to engage said shoulder and act as a stop for said counter, a primary arm connected to said primary pawl, a secondary arm connected to said secondary pawl, said secondary arm being provided with a recess, a catch carried by said primary arm and adapted to be received by said recess, a latch adapted to release said primary arm to permit said pawls to consecutively move said counter to a normal position, setting means controlling said latch, and cams mounted on said setting means and adapted to move said pawls out of the path of the cam to permit said counter to be freely rotated to counting positions.

In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures each in the presence of two witnesses. JOHN F. OHMER.

Witnesses:

IDA F. LUTZ, JOHN F. OHMER, Jr.

ELMER H. BRIDENBAUGH. Witnesses:

W. B. WALDRoN, M. A. GRAY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

